


Puzzled

by Dreaming_Writer



Series: Legend of Zelda Posts [8]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: Alternate Universe, Author complicates everything, Betaed, Four Swords, Four Swords Summer Swap 2020, Gen, Magic, Slight AU cause it's my interpretation of the ending of the manga with a lot inbetween going on, cause there's no way they went as easily back into one as pictured there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25988494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreaming_Writer/pseuds/Dreaming_Writer
Summary: If you take a puzzle apart and add a little bit to each piece when put back together – if successfully put back together – there will still be something standing out, no matter how much you will try to press these edges down and incorporate them back into the bigger picture.
Relationships: Link & Link's Father (Legend of Zelda), Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Legend of Zelda Posts [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653892
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	Puzzled

**Author's Note:**

  * For [https://neeniidraw.tumblr.com/](/gifts?recipient=https%3A%2F%2Fneeniidraw.tumblr.com%2F).



> Four Swords Summer Swap 2020: For neeniidraw and their prompt: Link
> 
> A thankful shout out for Agent3Novi, for once more taking the time to beta this little mess. ^^

_Long ago, the evil wind mage Vaati cast a pall of darkness and fear over all of Hyrule. A single hero appeared to rescue the maidens he kidnapped. When he drew his sword the hero magically split into four. Together the four heroes trapped Vaati and all his demons below a stone seal…_

oO0Oo

**_to split – verb_ **

  1. **_break or cause to break forcibly into parts, especially into halves or along the seam._**
  2. **_(with reference to a group of people) divide into two or more groups._**



oO0Oo

_“It is time to return the Four Sword to its pedestal and seal the King of Darkness away for all time.”_

_“…we’ll become just one Link again, won’t we?”_

_“It’s about time! …”_

_“At least we won’t fight anymore.”_

_“I don’t want to do it. I don’t want you guys to go.”_

_“Don’t cry, Red! You dummy! We’re not leaving each other, we’re joining together!”_

_“You mean…we can be together forever?!”_

_“You’re creeping me out again!”_

_“…”_

_“I’ll never forget this journey.”_

_“Thanks for everything!”_

_“I love all you guys!”_

_“Together forever!”_

oO0Oo

**_to puzzle – verb_ **

  1. **_cause (someone) to feel confused because they cannot understand something._**
  2. **_think hard about something because one cannot understand it._**



**_puzzle – noun_ **

  1. **_a game, toy, or problem designed to test ingenuity or knowledge._**
  2. **_a person or thing that is difficult to understand or explain; an enigma._**



oO0Oo

Link awoke bathed in cold sweat. Almost feverishly he reached for the flask of water placed next to his bed only to find it disappointingly empty. Annoyed and still very much tired he rolled out of bed and left his room, down the stairs into the living area, where he was greeted with the sight of his father, who was nursing his breakfast.

Upon hearing the boy's steps in the entrance of the door the man looked up and a soft, tired smile that didn't reach his eyes appeared on his lips. "Good morning" the captain of the royal guard greeted and pulled the stool next to him out as an invitation for his son to sit down and join him. 

The young hero nodded as he accepted the invitation and smiled back: "Good morning, father." 

The knife, with which said father had just been spreading marmalade on his bread, cluttered as it fell onto the dark wood of the kitchen table. Confused Link looked from where he was seated up into his father's face: "Is something wrong?"

Because there definitely seemed to be something wrong, if judging by his father's wide eyed and slack-jawed expression that quickly morphed from surprised shock to delighted hope. It brought the missing light back into his father's eyes and seemed to take a heavy burden off the man's shoulders. 

But then the senior knight stiffened, as if trying to reign in that spark of hope before it could light a futile fire and asked gently, his brown eyes desperately searching for something within Link's aqua ones: "How do you feel, Link?"

At this simple question something inside Link seemed to twitch as if awakened and somehow his own name suddenly seemed to send a slight bitter taste down his throat. Link shoved these strange impressions down and away, not if his hesitancy seemed to make his father wilt by the second. "Confused, mostly. But fine. Did something happen?" He questioned, his own searching gaze meeting his father's.

At first his father seemed to light up with happiness but when Link added that small bit, his mood seemed to darken again. "Link…" he began, his eyes boring into Link as if searching for something as Link tried to ignore the feeling of goosebumps traveling down his back at the sudden distaste at his own name. He must not have not been as good at hiding this new and confusing impressions for his father's shoulders dropped and the man sighed.

"Tell me, son, what do you remember last?" he questioned softly. Link stared at the man, confusion painting every thought. What did his father mean? Last was…

_Fighting Jago alone, the disagreement with his father. Hiding in the throne room and talking to Zelda. Visiting the Four Sword's sanctuary and the maiden's and Zelda's kidnapping. The appearance of the Shadow with his own face and fighting it until the being escaped. Pulling the Four Sword…_

A headache as if someone had hit Link repeatedly with a hammer over the head started to bloom and a sudden dizziness threatened to overwhelm the boy but he carried on, gritting his teeth and screwing his eyes closed as he desperately tried to remember the whole picture, remember what was after that. Nausea swept through him as he tried to coordinate through the simultaneous flashes and different thought processes he received for his effort. Then…

_...like being buried, like being burned, like being drowned, like falling through endless skies…_

_...too much...too full…_

_Out!_

_...let us out…_

Warm hands enclosed him even as his breaths came too short, too few and his father held Link like he held him when he was still a toddler and told him to breathe. To just breathe. The man counted to ten and if the captain left the number four out in his counts, his son acted like he didn't notice.

"Feel better?" his father asked gently once Link felt like he wouldn't break and fall apart under the pressure within anymore for now. As if even the slightest thought was just too much.

"Yes" the boy answered, his voice shaky. "Is that why you were so worried?"

"Partly" his father admits, still holding onto him as if he was made of glass, any wrong movement or word and Link would shatter. "But you were also...changed, ever since you put the Four Sword back. And you had a fever. It worried us all very much, we feared we might have lost you. I'm glad you're better."

This revelation was very much worrying and Link wondered why he couldn't remember, especially considering that after apparently having put the Four Sword back where it belonged after goddesses knows what happened he should have been himself again, no further strings attached.

But alas, he had no chance to further ponder upon all these inconsistencies when a shrill scream cut through the air. Both knights tensed instinctively and the father turned to his son to tell him firmly: "You'll stay here." 

"But…"

"I mean it" the man's eyes then softened. "You worried us all very much. We feared we had lost you. I do not want to risk it." And then the man ruffled his boy's messy blonde hair before grabbing his sword and rushing out the front door.

Link grumbled as he tried to futility tame and straighten the golden mop before giving up and rushing upstairs. No matter what his father said, there was no way he'd let the bad guys go to prison without having beaten them himself all the way to there and he couldn't fight the bad guys in his nightwear, now could he?

But opening his wardrobe for a quick change of clothes turned out to be a harder task than expected. 

Because when he reached for his favorite green tunic something within him started to rebel and threatened to pull him under a wave of something and tear him apart. 

The hero quickly pulled his hand away and the wave let him go. Link breathed in shock and surprise before frantically focusing himself again and reached for another tunic, this one a lovely sky blue. 

The wave felt smug and satisfied while both the earth and a wall of fire rose up in protest. The earth seemed annoyed, the fire unhappy and the wave then struck out in unbalanced anger.

Link stared at his shaking hands in disbelief before holding onto himself as a sudden fight from within seemed to want to tear him apart, the resulting headache causing colorful spots to appear in his vision.

Horrified he stumbled back, feeling too full, too unbalanced to do anything except roll himself together and bury his head in his knees as something within him waged a war against himself, hoping the compatibility of this position would hold his shaking form together even as his head felt like being cut to pieces.

A strong wind wove through the other fighting elements and tore them apart to chastise them and sort them back into their places before giving Link a gentle nudge from within, almost as if saying _go ahead_.

Link shuddered and before he could think twice grabbed his least favorite tunic, an itchy sandy-yellow thing and a simple dark brown undershirt to his normal white trousers and black and golden girdle.

The elements hiding within Link seemed equally unhappy at this choice but at least their unity was returned and Link didn't feel like he was torn apart at the seams anymore. He forced himself into the clothes, grabbed his sword and rushed downstairs, where he quickly slipped into his normal dark brown boots before rushing out the door.

The inhabitants of Castle Town seemed surprised to see him, more so over his outfit of choice, but they did not get the chance to comment as Link wove as quickly as his feet could carry him through the masses to the port where he knew the scream had come from.

As expected, there he found his father and another two knights already engaged in a battle with Jago and quite a few more henchmen than the last time. The robber apparently had learned from his last encounter with Link and had brought triple the amount of men this time.

Link didn't even hesitate to throw himself into battle, his blade swiftly catching one of the henchmen unaware and disarming him quite effectively. The henchmen was quickly felled after that and Link moved onto another one of the robbers.

Swinging, ducking, striking, rolling, the robber showed no mercy and neither did Link. Until suddenly the robber changed tactics, growing unreliable and that swing right there…

 _“Flip away!”_ ordered the Air.

 _“Block!”_ demanded the Water.

 _“Jump aside!”_ implored the Fire.

 _“Duck!”_ advised the Earth.

And Link stumbled, caught between all these commands, torn by edges as the sword neared to slice him in half.

“LINK!” and there was somehow his father, shielding his son at the last moment with his own body.

Link went wide eyed as specks of blood splattered onto the yellow tunic he wore and the forces of nature tearing him apart stilled for a second.

Link had reached the eye of the hurricane, watching the elements raging around him and prepared for his fight against them.

And then he saw green, blue, red, violet and knew no more.

…

Warm arms holding him and a voice ringing in his ears brought him back to reality. Link blinked and found himself with a pounding headache and a shirt spattered with blood which was not his own.

“Father?” he asked tentatively, looking up in the warm caramel that were his father’s eyes, though there was worry and fury within.

“You’re back with us, son?” the knight asked his boy softly, pressing down his anger at the repeated disobedience of his spawn to deal with his very much fragile son in a more suitable way at that moment.

“You’re hurt. What happened?” Link asked, sitting up and struggling to regain his footing.

His father frowned and looked at his own blood matted side for a second with a wince before turning back to his son: “Nothing a potion won’t fix. On the other hand you managed to defeat the Jago’s henchmen again single handedly though that slippery snake escaped again. But let’s not talk about that. How do you feel?”

“My head is killing me. And I’ve got another gap in my memory. Did they knock me out?” Link inquired, cautious of the anger boiling under his father’s skin.

“After defeating the henchmen you fought Jago, until you suddenly simply collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, no outside force needed” Link’s father explained calmly. “Jago then used you as a bargaining chip to let him and his goons escape with the loot.”

Link winced again, though this time not because of his still raging headache but because this was even worse than he thought. And it was all his fault. “I’m sorry” he brought out, shame painting his cheeks a nice crimson color.

“Sorry does not excuse your repeated disobedience, Link” his father stated sternly. _Or the damage that came with it_ was left unsaid. 

“I know” Link muttered, looking away ashamed.

But this was not his fault right? It was the fault of these voices but why were they there? Who were they?

“Let’s just…go to castle. Zelda will want to see you and I still have to write that damage report” Link’s father then stated and guided his son by the boy’s shoulder away from the other knights who gave them quiet “get well soon” wishes. Link gave them quiet and thankful nods but couldn’t help but inwardly despair.

_What was wrong with him?!_

0oOo0

After making a small stop at the pharmacy to get a potion for the wounded captain of the royal guard, father and son quickly reached the castle where they immediately went straight to the throne room. They found Zelda currently in a debate with a young dark-haired man, but when the duo entered, their debate stopped and both participants looked up.

Almost instantly, Zelda’s expression brightened and she forewent any kind of formality in favor of rushing forward in her fine dress and hugging her best friend because he looked like he needed it and because she felt indescribable relief to see him up and himself again. The other two males in the room respectively looked away and acted like they hadn’t seen the Princess’ breach of etiquette.

But when Link stiffened instead of hugging her back, Zelda drew back worried to take a careful look at him. “Link? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Link took in a sharp breath, for this was exactly the question he had asked himself ever since he had awoken. “I…Could I please talk to you in private?”

“Of course,” Zelda stated, instantly turning to the other two persons in the room. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us please?”

“Of course, your majesty” Link’s father quickly agreed while the smaller male next to him nodded energetically. Zelda gave them an acknowledging nod and both adults quickly filtered out of the room to give the childhood friends the wished privacy.

Zelda sighed and then turned to Link to repeat her earlier question: “What’s wrong? I saw that there was blood on your father’s arm. What happened?” Link chewed on his lower lip nervously before answering her latter question: “There was another robbery near the port. It didn’t go well.”

“Why? I mean, you were there. Nothing ever went too bad with you around.”

“I was the reason father was hurt and why they escaped.”

Zelda took in a sharp gasp at that admission and how broken her friend sounded. It only got worse as he continued: “I blacked out because father got hurt taking a hit I could have easily avoided if I could have made my goddesses trice damned mind up on which move I was to use to escape the swing of that goon’s sword. But I couldn’t! I couldn’t even decide on which tunic to wear this morning! I can’t remember a thing after pulling that damned sword until this morning! And now, because of my inattentiveness and another black out, these pompous robbers got away with their complete loot and it’s all my fault!” At that a sob escaped Link and fought the tears back.

Goddesses, what was wrong with him? When had he become so emotionally unbalanced that he suddenly started crying for no reason?

Zelda hadn’t said a word yet and Link didn’t dare to take a glance at her to see her most likely judgmental stare. And then suddenly there were arms around him again. Link tensed before he practically melted into her arms, the stress of the day becoming too much.

“What’s wrong with me? What happened in the time I cannot remember? Why does father treat me like I am as fragile as glass, one false movement and I am broken? Why can I not make the most easiest, instinctual decisions any longer? What’s wrong with me?”

Zelda let her best friend rant his frustrations and uncertainties until he ran out of steam and then she allowed him to bask in the silence for a moment before finally speaking up: “Link…there’s nothing wrong with you. I just fear you’re just now facing the consequences of your brave action in drawing that sword to protect me and Hyrule. If you want, I’ll tell you what happened in the time you don’t remember for I got to watch it through a magic mirror.”

At Link’s hesitant nod, she then started the tale of what had happened just a few weeks ago: “You know how I told you the legend of the Four Sword and how it split the wielder into four? We always wondered how that could be achieved because how can one split a person without killing them until you…You lived through it.”

And then Zelda told him of Green, Blue, Red and Vio, of Shadow Link and of the fight against Vaati and how Ganon was behind everything. She wove him an almost fantastic tale of deception and kinship, of traitors and self-sacrifice. Of heroes of light and villains of darkness and all the shades of grey in between.

And then she told him how the sword was returned to the stone, where it would hold Ganon hopefully forever. She told Link how the four returned to become one in body but not mind. The body functioned, but the mind was still fractured, weeks passed with no sign of betterment, until suddenly one day they collapsed with no warning. Their father carried them home and there they stood feverish for three days. When finally the fever broke, they had left the body to rest and it was then, on the morning of the fourth day that Link had finally woken, himself once more or as far as himself as one could be.

“These conflicts you’re feeling, these easy decisions you cannot make, I fear that they are the consequences of the long separation of your parts. We can only hope that it’ll go better with time but even if not, this is the price you nobly paid for Hyrule, a price that can never be repaid. You are a hero, Link, and I’m so sorry this is happening to you, but I’m also relieved beyond words to see how far you’ve come in your progress.”

Link kept quiet, still in her arms for another moment before he finally found the strength to hug her back. “Zelda…tell me, please, what should I do? What can I do? I don’t want to be broken, I don’t want to be useless” he whispered into her hair and she held him tight, searching in her minds for a fitting answer.

“You’re not useless” she assured firmly, because he wasn’t, he was her best friend and he was Hyrule’s hero and he could never be useless. “This might be a hard time, but we’ll get through this. You just need to be a tiny bit more careful than usual for some time and everything will be alright again.”

Link nodded, not sure what to think but then finally settled on an exhausted nod. Zelda gave him a kind smile and then spoke: “Anyway, we’ve got an important visitor. His name is Maco and he’s from one of our neighbor countries. He came here for some important trading contracts and new planning of new routes and intends on returning home soon. You’ll probably like him, he’s quite the interesting character.”

“Well, if he’s that important we should probably not let him wait any longer” Link proposed determined, wiping away any stray tear that might have escaped him in his breakdown. Zelda acted like she didn’t notice and instead nodded at him before calling out to the guards outside the door: “They may come in again!”

Quickly the doors of the throne room were opened again and both Link’s father and Maco came in again, the older man gazing worried at his son and when Link gave him a confident nod he relaxed slightly. On the other hand seemed Maco to practically vibrate with energy before he suddenly, without any warning, stormed forward, rounding around Link with wide and curious eyes.

“Ohhh! You’re Link, the left-handed hero, am I right? I’ve heard tons of you!” Maco then stilled, blushing embarrassed by his outburst. Awkwardly coughing once, he then continued in a much lower volume: “Only good things, of course, only good things.”

“That’s good to hear?” Link answered, unsure of how to correctly deal with this high ranked salesman who apparently had no troubles at switching into toddler-mode at a moment’s notice.

The salesman nodded enthusiastically again, before slightly stiffening and giving a quick bow: “Uh, sorry. My manners, I must have left them on my boat. My name is Maco, trader extraordinary of the crown. It’s a pleasure to meet you, hero, sir.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too” Link replied kindly, though a slight wave of annoyance rolled through him. He shooed it away as fast as he could. “And please call me Link.”

Maco visibly brightened at that but before he could burst something out in his excitement again, Zelda kindly intervened: “Before we were interrupted, you said you were planning on returning home soon?”

Maco visibly deflated at that, his excitement bleeding away for nervousness: “Yeah, I did, actually tomorrow, when tide’s coming in. But while we’ve got everything prepared, I can’t help but be worried for me and my men and most importantly my priceless load.” He sighed, despaired. Zelda and Link exchanged a subtle glance while they slowly realized what the merchant was about to ask.

“Pirates have been sighted more and more and I know my crew are not prepared in the least to deal with them. I’m scared for them, to be honest. If only we had someone noble to defend us as bravely as you managed to defend Hyrule, Link.” And with that he looked up, warm brown eyes pleading: “I’ve heard of your courage and your deeds as a hero and while I can’t truly say I believe every fairytale, like your ability to be in four places at once while Hyrule was invaded by the forces of evil, I know that you are the greatest fighter of our time and so I ask you, no I beg you to lent us your protection.” And with that Maco got to his knees, ignoring his finely woven garments getting dirtied by it as he gazed up to the princess and the knight pleadingly.

Awkwardly Link’s father then cleared his throat: “You do realize that Link has duties to his kingdom and is not allowed to avoid them?” Maco nodded energetically at that, again. A small spark within Link wondered how the male hasn’t become dizzy by that action yet. Link pushed it under.

“Of course, of course I am aware! I’d pay his service, of course! Just name your price! And it’s only a three day’s voyage after all. And after I’d sent one of my fastest ships to bring him safely back, of course. He’d be away a week at most!” Maco looked ready to kiss their shoes if it meant convincing them and that was a line Zelda didn’t want to see crossed.

“Maco, please rise” she ordered kindly and the hyperactive merchant was quickly up on his feet again, looking at them with his best impression of puppy dog eyes. Zelda gave him a hesitant smile: “While I see your point and would be willing to let Link aid you on your voyage in the end it’s up to him to decide. And his father, of course.”

The hylian puppy quickly attacked Link’s father with his cuteness next, who seemed conflicted, while aware that this was important and the actual chance to encounter pirates was slim to none, he didn’t feel like letting his son go in his current condition, but was also aware that denying Maco’s request might get them into hot waters with the tradesman’s king. And so instead he sighed in defeat, giving Link a single nod to let him know whatever his son wanted, he’d support. Who knows, maybe this little time out from knighting might even be exactly what his son needed to get himself properly sorted out.

Link looked from his parent to his best friend, the decision now laying heavily upon his shoulders as Maco turned to him, pleadingly. A sudden feeling of wrongness settled like a knot in his chest courtesy of the earth, a headache rippling through his skull like a strong burst of wind. Link pushed it away, breathing in sharply to ground himself. He felt torn but luckily not as much as the other times. Maybe he was getting better?

Either way he would not be useless, even in his current condition, especially not then: “Sure, when will we depart tomorrow?”

Maco looked at him thankful beyond words, as if he’d just saved his whole world.

0oOo0

The first day of the voyage was nice and calm, the sky sunny. Link spent most of his day on the upper deck, the slight waves sprayed spume into his face and the clear air and small winds cleared his head and brought calm like nothing else. He helped where he could with small tasks and while at first the crew eyed him slightly warily, they soon accepted his kindness with grateful nods or nice words. Above them all their captain towered grimly, giving orders sternly, while Maco had holed himself away in his cabin.

It was only on the second day that the young tradesman came out of his hiding place to chat with the young knight. “I’m sorry, I was a little seasick” he said with an apologetic smile and the feeling of wrongness intensified, for _how could a well-travelled salesman become seasick that fast?_

But then Maco yelled out an excited “Look, dolphins!” and the earth was quietened again, this time by the childish glee of joining the trader in watching the animals dance on the waves.

Maco asked Link to tell him stories of his fights and adventure and while Link couldn’t provide much about the latter, he gladly told of the former. And Maco smiled at just the right places, winced at not so nice points and was all in all a good audience.

Only when the sun started to disappear behind the horizon, his mood seemed to drop.

“Link, tell me, is there someone out there for you you’d give everything for?” he asked, unusually somber. The hero stared at his companion confused, before answering: “I’d give everything for Hyrule.”

Maco sighed: “No, no, do you have a person you’d do everything for?” Link didn’t answer, because alarm bells were ringing once more in his head, this time louder than before as he saw how tense the tradesman clung to the railing.

Then the young man turned to the boy and he sighed before elaborating, his eyes wet with unshed tears: “You see, I’ve got a little sister. I’d do everything for her. We’re orphans and we used to steal before we were caught. I became a tradesman so I could pay these debts off.”

His gaze fixated upon Link with an intensiveness the knight hadn’t thought the trader possible to possess: “Just one more thing, and then we’re both free and would never have to steal again. The king promised.”

Maco sighed and Link tensed, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice, his instincts screaming at him. “I’m sorry, Link. But let it be known I truly looked up to you. Please don’t take this personally.”

And suddenly there was an exploding pain in the back of his head as someone clubbed him over the head. For a moment he saw stars, before gritting his teeth and stumbling forward. How foolish had he been to leave his weapons in his cabin!

He turned over his shoulder to see the captain standing there, a bloodied wooden club in his hands, before shrugging, a sly grin on his lips.

“Why?” he brought out, the feeling of betrayal filling him and leaving a bitter taste on his tongue that somehow felt familiar as blood ran down his face.

“You know that business is business. You’re a nice guy, maybe not all there, but nice. I’m actually sorry to say your voyage ends here,” the captain stated coldly, while Maco closed his eyes helplessly and turned away, shoulder shaking.

Link's eyes widened when he suddenly saw the club racing towards his face, then his ears were ringing and he was in the air and then there was cold and wet and Link knew no more.

oO0Oo

Link awoke in the cold sea, apparently having even in unconsciousness managed to grab onto a passing piece of driftwood, which came from who knows where. The back of his throat was dry and rough, and his tongue tasted only salt. But even worse was the all-encompassing headache that seemed intent on splitting Link’s skull open. Link hated it but even more so was he willing to suffer it because he was somehow still alive.

How was the key question, for how could an unconscious person swim long enough to grab onto a piece of wood in hope of survival?

Because whatever Link had wanted to tell himself in his denial this was anything but normal.

And then it got even weirder.

 _“Okay, I lost control again, who’s in charge now?”_ the wind asked in a voice scarily similar to his own, all the while blowing like a cold whiplash through Link’s brain. The young knight winced and gritted his teeth when suddenly two more voices rang through his head in confused _“not me”_ s. It left Link gasping for air as his head felt like it might shatter if there came another voice from within.

“Shut up” he gasped out, clinging to his fragile sanity like he clung to that piece of wood he was drifting on. “Just shut up, please.”

A pause in which soft waves played with him like he was a ball, the headache missing one beat.

_“…please tell me that was you in control, Blue.”_

_“Nuh-uh.”_ The water – Blue – answered.

And then it all started up again, even worse than before.

The voices, the elements, the colors in his head jumped almost into a panicked frazzle as they tried to make sense of the situation, wind and water had an argument which fire tried desperately to extinguish, while earth was strangely quiet.

Link dug his fingers into his piece of driftwood until it splintered under his strong grip, the pain of the splinters in his fingers was nothing compared to the one of his head and he fought a losing battle against the tears that spilled from his eyes as a natural reaction to the extreme duress under which he was under.

And then, finally someone seemed to notice his plight. _“Guys, STOP! We’re hurting him!”_ the fire, the one surprisingly most in tune with Link’s feelings, brought out and silence followed.

 _“Wait a minute, can he hear us?”_ the wind asked, and Link gritted his teeth and bit out a pained “yes”.

_“Oh sh*t.”_

_“Blue, language. Vio, any theories?”_ The earth – Vio – still didn’t react.

“I can hear you just fine and I’d prefer if you stopped talking or if you must talk to please explain how I’m still alive” Link bit out.

This got them to still, before the fire kindly explained: _“You passed out first, so we somehow took over, switching in between us when the pain got too much. The boards we’re drifting on were thrown out by Maco who used the incoming darkness to hide his act. He didn’t want to betray us, I’m sure. He was probably forced to act like this for the life of his sister.”_

Then the wind took over: _“I guess Vio’s passed out, I told him to switch out sooner. Anyway, I guess we should introduce ourselves? Since your memory seems kinds spotty from what we gathered about our adventure. I’m Green.”_

 _“Red”_ the fire said cheerfully, which didn’t fit the situation at all.

 _“Blue, but you already gathered that from what you’ve heard, haven’t you?”_ the water introduced grumpily.

At that moment something else seemed to stir within Link and the headache intensified immensely before ebbing down once more to a more manageable level. The elements, no colors in his mind were once more fully online.

 _“I told you not to overexert yourself”_ Green quickly chided his last brother. He only received the mental equivalent of a shrug.

“Vio, I take it?” Link spoke out loud, waving his sanity farewell, for he was officially talking to himself while he clung beaten to a bit of driftwood. But well, if he was to die, which sooner or later was sure to happen, he might as well clear some things up first. “The others mentioned you might have theories. Care to elaborate why you guys still exist and apparently take over whenever I’m out?”

He received the mental equivalent of narrowed eyes for a moment before the last part spoke calmly: _“I have a theory indeed. Imagine a puzzle. If you take a puzzle apart and add a little bit to each piece when put back together – if successfully put back together – there will still be something standing out, no matter how much you will try to press these edges down and incorporate them back into the bigger picture.”_

He paused to give Link a moment to understand his metaphor before he elaborated: _“You are the bigger picture. Torn apart through the power of the Four Sword. But because we, your parts, were apart for too long and had different experiences shape us, we don’t fit together anymore, at least not completely. This way we still exist while you also do. A bit longer actually and you probably would have ceased to exist utterly. The magic had enough trouble as it was getting us somewhat back together into you, but we’re still standing out, mostly. Your current concussion isn’t doing you any favors either, which is why we’re especially prevalent to you right now.”_

“Oh” Link said, because what else could be said?

“Let’s just…let’s just survive this then and think about this more later” he then suggested meekly, not ready to waste a drop of energy on freaking out about this. If he survived he’d have more than enough time to freak out about this later. “And could you please stop fighting? It’s only worsening my headache.”

Luckily for him, this was something the colors quickly agreed to without too much fuss.

0oOo0

They drifted guideless, Link often drifting off, whether he liked it or not, which was apparently when one of the colors quickly slipped into control, stopping the tired body from shutting down and falling asleep, which would sign their death certificate, by pure determination and stubbornness.

It was when the sun finally started rising again after his third night at sea – the colors by now more often switching than not, with Link barely in control anymore seeing as he was closest to their current state of existence and thus was the most affected by their thirst, hunger and indescribable exhaustion – that suddenly a ship appeared on the horizon. It was a goddess-send miracle, for it would have surely been the last day they would have made it through, even in their special condition.

The ship belonged to a small crew who fished the young, near death knight out of the water and nursed him back to health.

And that was how Link finally awoke again. His feeling returned to him first and he felt himself lying on a soft cot, a wet cloth draped over his forehead, helping stifle the horrifying headache he had. He felt tired beyond words and his whole body was aching and sweaty.

But he also knew he couldn’t just lie there forever as the rest of his senses slowly returned. And so Link blinked his eyes open slowly, a fight on itself and met worried warm brown eyes. The young lady gave a happy smile at seeing him conscious again and stated quietly: “Be careful, your fever only broke last night. It’s a miracle that you’re still alive, you know that? How are you feeling?”

“Who…” Link started but his voice deserted him as his throat felt like it was on fire, his tongue like a numb and dead piece of flesh. “Shh, don’t speak yet, you’re still weakened” hushed the stranger, quickly getting up to get him a cup of water which Link downed immediately before taking his time to look at the raven haired girl more detailed. He couldn’t really understand why, but she seemed familiar.

“Who are you?” he finally brought out, voice raspy but usable. She flinched before straightening, a nervous smile grazing her lips.

“I’m Mica” she then introduced. “And I’m so sorry for what happened to you, at least we got to you in time.”

Confusion was all Link could feel at that. Why would she feel fault at this, for she had probably saved his life?

 _“Seems shady to me,”_ Blue muttered in his subconsciousness and Link flinched, not expecting to still be able to hear the Colors.

 _“You did listen to my explanation, so you should have expected that,”_ Vio commented dryly on his train of thoughts. Were they reading his thoughts?

 _“Uhm, yeah. But we kinda can’t help it ‘cause we’re technically the same person and all that?”_ Green tried to soothe his worries as Link started to freak out. This sadly only furthered the process and his breathing quickened, heartbeat accelerating.

And then, suddenly Mica was beside him telling him to breathe, count one, two, three, four…

_No, not four, that was unfair, why was he stuck with the four of them?_

_“Hey, it’s not like we wanted things to go that way!”_ Anger broke forth from this corner of Link’s brain and he gritted his teeth to not suddenly lash out like a madman.

 _“Not helping, Blue”_ Green tried to salvage the situation, but the damage was already done.

_They could read his thoughts, influence him, take over the body…was he even in control right now? Or was he just a puppet left to act to their whim?_

_“If it helps, you’re still very much existent as a person. Just with us added on top”_ Vio explained patiently.

 _“Not helping either, Vio”_ gave Green out. _“Best would be to just stay quiet and not aggravate him further.”_

 _“We’re worrying Mica”_ Red suddenly spoke up. _“She seems nice and we make her sad with worry. Also, she saved us. Can we stop making her sad?”_

That was a very good argument and it was enough to break Link out of his head and bring him back into the present where – like Red had mentioned – Mica seemed to be ready to bawl with an unexplainable sadness as she babbled apologies for something Link could not understand over and over again.

Now he was the one who tried to calm her down from a sudden breakdown, counting and just fixating her by her shoulders with his arms that felt as if lead was hanging off them. Finally she calmed and gave a slight hiccup as a sign she was listening.

“Look, Mica,” Link awkwardly started, unsure what exactly to say and the only guideline being Red trying to be optimistic and emphatically giving him pointers while Green tried to instruct him how to calm people down quite effectively. “I have no idea what you’re sorry for but it’s okay. You saved my life and I’m thankful for that.”

Mica blinked at him for a moment before she seemed to be once more fighting against her tears: “But that’s exactly it! It wouldn’t have needed saving if I hadn’t gotten caught by that bad joke of a king! If he hadn’t used me as ransom against my brother, he’d never have been forced to lead you into a trap! Or if we had broken out of jail any faster, we would have managed to fish you out a lot earlier…and I’m just so sorry!”

And Link’s mind screeched to a halt.

 _“Ha! I knew something was shady with her!”_ Blue boasted as his brothers quickly tried to shush him while Link’s thought process rebooted.

And then he closed his gaping mouth with a “click” (when had he opened it?) and said more as a statement then a question: “You’re Maco’s sister?” Mica nodded, tears finally streaming out as Link continued: “And you broke out of jail where your king put you while blackmailing your brother.”

“Yes. We’re on a ship right now with refugees who all were wrongfully held by the king for his plans and blackmailing of innocent people so he could murder you.”

“Why did the king want to get rid of me?”

Mica looked unsure before quietly stating: “Well, your country was shaken by a super villain trying to take over, your army has been almost diminished. Now would be the perfect point for a take over from his point of view. But because you were still there and everyone knows trying to take Hyrule over while the hero is still there is suicidal, he first had to kill you without it being conspicuous. That’s why he forced neutral parties to follow his whim.” She broke off with a sob.

“I swear to you, Link, my brother never would have wanted to hurt you. He never could have even hurt a fly. But the mad king forced his hand. And now he’s going to use your absence to take over Hyrule.”

Well, damn.

“We have to get back to Hyrule now. I’ve gotta warn Zelda” Link gritted out between clenched teeth as chaos broke out in his brain, the Colors furious and worried for their home, effectively giving him a headache.

“Already on the way” Mica gave with a small smile, apparently relieved that finally some things were looking up.

0oOo0

After a few hours of voyage, for Link had been out of it more than a day, they reached the port of Hyrule. Apparently too late, for the other king’s men patrolled it. There was no way Link was going to reach the castle unseen if not for some form of miracle.

Mica, standing at the railing next to him narrowed her eyes before clipping her cloak off and handing it to him: “Use this to hide your identity and slip unseen when they’re distracted.”

Link questionably looked at the black cloak, then back at her: “Why would they be distracted?”

Mica gave him a predatory grin at that, and Link knew in that moment that the king had chosen the wrong sibling to take hostage: “Oh, don’t worry. We’ll take care of it.”

0oOo0

Screams rang through the air as Link slipped easily and unseen through dark alleyways, the hood of the cape pulled deep into his face and the sheath of the sword Mica had given him clicking against his back where it was strapped to. Inside he was torn, wanting to help the poor people screaming but he also knew he’d first have to save Zelda.

But sadly, when he went to find one of the secret entrances into the castle, it was gone. Panic surged through him, because _Where did the passage go?! When did it go?_ and only the calmness of the Colors within kept him from a full-blown freak out.

 _“The castle was completely burned out. It had to be rebuilt. Thank the goddesses for magic, otherwise it would have taken years and not just the month you were out”_ Green explained, and Link felt dread settle in his stomach.

“But how am I supposed to get inside if there’s no secret entrance. I might be a good fighter, but I can’t fight them all to get in” Link whispered frantically.

 _“Silly,”_ Red giggled at that. _“Of course, there are new secret passages.”_

 _“And luckily for us I memorized them”_ Vio added. _“Actually, one directly just over there, hidden behind that slight spell and bushes, leads almost straight to the throne room.”_

0oOo0

“See, Princess? Like I told you, our kingdom is superior” the mad king mocked, and Zelda stared him unimpressed down even as she was forced into a kneeling position due to her bonds. A madman was nothing compared to true super villains.

“Link will come and defeat you” she simply stated, stone faced. The mad king only cackled madly at that, earning himself a cocked eyebrow.

“Well, isn’t that a problem that your little hero is dead?” he giggled and Zelda’s mask turned grimmer as she didn’t believe him: “You’re lying.”

“Sadly not, princess” the mad king laughed. “He drowned when he was knocked out and thrown off the ship in the middle of the ocean, on a voyage with one of my traders on which you sent him.”

“No” Zelda whispered nearly inaudible, a soft gasp escaping her as her heart clenched at the implication. Then she steeled herself again before stating: “You’re lying.”

“Sadly I’m not, princess” the mad king mocked. “If you shall not believe me, then you might believe this man. Maco, if you please?”

And with that the young tradesmen came out of the shadows, shoulders shaking, hands clenched, and head bowed. He stopped when he stood next to the king. The man patted the younger one’s back almost affectionately: “Why don’t you tell her what happened, Maco?”

“On the evening of the second day, Link was knocked out after receiving two strikes of a club to his head. Then he was thrown overboard” he stated with a monotone voice.

The sound Zelda made at that was heartbreaking as the message finally sunk in.

“Fantastic isn’t it? Losing a loved one? Heard you were childhood friends. That’s gotta stuck” the madman boasted, while his smaller companion tensed.

“You should know, Maco, my boy. Because while you’re a free man now, you’ll never see your sister again” he continued.

“What?!” broke Maco out.

“And you know why? Because she’s a little rebel and so are you if my men are to be believed. Tsk, as if a bit of wood could save anyone in a huge ocean. Your sister is dead because of you” and the mad king laughed as the poor raven haired man broke down crying.

0oOo0

Link reached the throne room unseen to a sight of chaos. Knights, wounded or worse were strewn around widely and even his father lay wounded and passed out beneath them, while the mad king was laughing and gloating to a mostly unharmed but captured Zelda. And most surprisingly Maco also seemed to be present, though Link wasn’t sure from the way the tradesman was sunk into himself, if the man was conscious.

The mad king was gloating how he planned to include Hyrule into his country to Zelda, who’s face seemed unusually open and hurt. Immediately a storm within started to brew, for no one managed to hurt Zelda and got away with it.

With no second thought Link drew his sword and attacked the king, but suddenly there was another man, catching his sword with a heavy staff.

The mad king narrowed his eyes in anger and gave the downed Maco an angry kick as the knight and the mage fought: “How?! This can just be your fault, little traitor! I’ll see you hang for this!” The young man whimpered but on Zelda’s face only relief glowed.

And with a firm strike of his sword Link felled the mage before turning to the mad king, his sword raised threateningly: “Your terror ends here, usurper. Release Princess Zelda and call your men away.”

“My, what a displeasure” the mad king stated, a slight frown marrying his face before giving Maco another subtle kick to the ribs at which the poor tradesman rolled himself together further. “Guess I’ll have to think of something else now.”

“Don’t even dare to step another toe out of a line” Link threatened, feeling protectiveness for Maco settle over him.

“I wouldn’t dare” the mad king said solemnly before his face turned sinister. “After all I shall draw it myself.”

And that was when a spell hit Link from behind, the heavily bleeding mage having risen once more. He couldn’t even give a shout of alarm before he crumbled near lifelessly to the ground. Only the steady rise and fall of his chest told of his continued survival.

“Link!” screamed Zelda, horrified. “No!”

She glared as she turned her head to the mad king: “What did you do to him?”

The man cackled madly before giving a smile with too many teeth: “Well, I knew there was a chance the goddesses would make sure their hero survived. So as soon as I heard about this worm’s betrayal…” Another swift kick caused the fallen to whimper. “…I ordered his sister’s execution and a spell to be devised. You can’t kill the hero, he’ll only respawn. That’s what history taught me. So don’t kill him, I told myself, make sure his body is still alive.”

Zelda’s eyes widened in horror as comprehension dawned upon her as the sly king continued talking laughing madly: “Your friend – if he ever wakes up – will be a slobbering, mindless mess. This spell was especially crafted to tear the victim’s mind apart before erasing it.”

0oOo0

_Green awoke startled in a plain land with just gras and endless skies reaching in every direction. Groggily he opened his eyes and when he sat up, he saw to his shock that he was nearly see through. Though he still felt solid to himself he quickly got to his feet to look around for his missing teammates._

_The first thing Green noticed was the center of wherever he was, which was a simple pedestal holding - of all things to hold – what seemed to be the Four Sword – and a body huddled unconsciously still holding onto its hilt. Next Green noticed the muddy grey cloud forming around the center and it was then that the person huddled there left out a whimper._

_With no second though Green stormed in, only to be thrown back by whatever that was. He landed unusually soft, as if he hadn’t weighted more than a feather, his hands having lost slightly more of their visible spectrum by that not-thought-through attack. It was only then that Green noticed his comrades unconsciously laying in every other direction, where apparently they had been placed. Or thrown. That actually seemed more likely now that Green thought about it._

_But why?_

_Shaking his head to concentrate, Green quickly ran south where he could see the red tunic of the most emotional team member. But when he came closer, he found himself just as confused by Red’s condition as he had been by his own._

_Red’s form seemed to flicker, only slightly more solid than his was. Green carefully reached out to gently shake his shoulder to wake Red. The red-clad youth’s eyes snapped open in confusion and they quickly found Green._

_Instantly the boy practically threw himself at Green, hugging his green clad brother. Then he finally seemed to acknowledge where they were. And that some feet off laid their next brother in the east._

_He was off before Green could even start to explain, shaking Vio awake before finally rushing north to find Blue, apparently entirely uncaring about their current slightly strange existence of being. Green could only jog after him and when he saw Vio groaning and rubbing a probably aching head he understood why Red had not cared, for he probably had not realized anything until then, because Vio looked completely normal and corporal, something that neither Green nor Red currently were. As expected, Red soon gave a shout of alarm, followed by Blue loudly cursing. And then the two most emotional parts jogged up to the others in visible alarm and confusion._

_Because while Vio was solid, Blue seemed almost liquid, Red seemed to flicker and Green seemed more absent than he was present._

_“Okay, why is this happening, and why does he get to be solid?” Blue complained, pointing at a stone-faced Vio angrily._

_“I have no idea but I’m pretty sure that it’s because of what hit us before we blackened out. And this” and with that Green pointed at the center and the bigger becoming misty grey cloud that swallowed up the grass around it bit by bit. “is the result.”_

_“I agree” Vio stated. “And I’m sure we’re like this because Link envisioned us to be like this. He connected us with different elements and thus this is the form we take on in our mindscape.”_

_“Mindscape?!” was echoed at that confused and slightly panicked._

_“But if this is our mindscape then that cloud is eating it! That can’t be healthy!” Red yelped out alarmed._

_“Exactly,” Vio muttered with a grim nod. “My best bet is that it was a spell meant to drive Link insane. It first ripped the outstanding parts – us – away before it went to work swallowing up the rest, effectively making sure that nothing ever could work the body. That…” and with that Vio pointed to the center where the lone figure seemed to fade away more and more every minute. “…is the main part of us, of Link. The complete puzzle if I am to bring up my metaphor from before. We’re the pieces that still stuck out so the spell tore us away first, thinking it would cripple Link into being unable to fight back.”_

_“But we were already torn, so we are now already able to function” Green realized. “Which means that we can fight back.”_

_“But we don’t have weapons!” protested Red while Blue readied his fists. “What if we touch it and get also erased?”_

_“I already touched it once and it didn’t kill me” Green confessed. “So once or twice should be fine.”_

_“But that’s not enough to defeat an enemy like that!” Blue bit out._

_“Then how about using our mindscape as an advantage?” Vio suggested dryly. “I mean, it’s our mind, we should be able to manipulate it.”_

_Blue stared at his brother in thought for a moment, before screwing up his face and reaching under his hat. And then he pulled out his trusty hammer from it, mouth forming into a confident grin. His brothers stared for a second before quickly reaching into their own clothes for weapons._

_Fully armed they turned to each other smirking. This was going to be just like old times._

_That spell had chosen the wrong mind to mess with._

0oOo0

Link awoke with a crippling headache and blinked to the floor below him, his ears ringing. Before his inner eye swam pictures of endlessness and vastness and the impression of clutching to something, barely holding on while being erased bit by bit. And then being suddenly surrounded by the elements who had saved him, before finally waking up.

 _“And now it’s time for you to save Zelda”_ urged Green, the voice overlapping almost with a frown upon his face that seemed like a dream of a green clad youth surrounded by other colored boys, all of them wearing his face as they urged him to awake and return after defeating an enemy he could alone never have dealt with, a warm hug he received before fading back into control. And for once their voices didn’t hurt him for they had finally found the place within his mind where they belonged.

Link lifted his head and caught Zelda’s eyes that were still focused on him and she smiled while the mad king ranted, his mage standing beside him. And then Link picked up his sword and poked it into the man’s back. “Give up, usurper” he demanded once more, and the man stilled and craned his neck to stare at him wide-eyed.

But then there movement again and there was the shaky and bleeding mage holding his staff against Zelda’s head: “I would advise you against that, hero” he spat out. “While you might be somehow immune, I’m sure your lovely little princess isn’t.”

There was a pause, a beat.

They were at an impasse.

“Drop your sword, or your friend is going to be unusable” the mage ordered and Link gritted his teeth as once more a storm started to rage within.

“Let her go or your king is dead” Link then quickly stated, trying not to let it show that he probably wouldn’t be able to kill an unarmed person, no matter what the person did before. And sadly, by the grin the mage gave, he knew it, too.

“Drop your sword, now!” he instructed, practically bellowing it out, the spell already on his lips.

But then there was a sudden movement again and suddenly the mage was felled by the fists of a certain tradesman, who then quickly wrenched the staff away and knocked the man out. Rising to his feet, he gave a timid smile and helpless shrug before stating: “I never liked the guy anyway.”

And then Maco looked at Link and gave a smile: “Also, you wear my sister’s cape, which means that she must have been the one to find and save you. I had hoped someone would find you, seeing as this was the most usual trading route out there, but out of everyone her?” He chuckled fondly. “She’s brilliant like that, breaking out, just when ordered to be killed. I’m so glad I looked up when I did to see you wear it. Where is she?”

“In the port, distracting this guy’s men” Link explained, before turning to the man. “Now that we’re at the topic you should really recall them. Oh, and Maco? Would you mind untying Zelda?”

Maco gave a thumbs up and quickly went to work while the young hero turned his gaze to the man trapped beneath his sword, while the Colors in Link’s head finally started to cheer, their victory finally sure.

“How?!” the mad king broke out, broken, disbelieving, finally beyond composition. “This spell was supposed to break your mind!”

“Can’t break what’s already broken” Link muttered darkly, before holding his sword at the man’s throat. “Give up, now.”

The man stared at the young hero terrified, before hanging his head in defeat.

With the Colors on his side for when Link couldn’t go on? No one ever had stood a chance.

0oOo0

“Father, hurry! Bandits!” Link yelled enthusiastically, once more charging forward first while wearing his favorite green tunic, while his father and the other knights followed.

Two weeks had passed and the mad king’s much smaller kingdom was now being led by the oldest prince, a kind young man who was deeply ashamed for his father’s actions. Payments for amends were being made. And it had been under tears that also the siblings had been reunited and they and the other escapees were offered a Hyrulean citizenship and good jobs which they gladly had accepted.

Things slowly returned to normal, or as normal as they now could get. There were still some fights from within but at least the wardrobe problem had been solved. Three days a week Link got to decide to wear whatever he wanted, the Colors having each one day out of the other four.

The Colors cheered in Link’s head and gave quiet tips on how to improve. The young hero ducked and felled the first henchmen, before flipping forward and twisting around to face Jago once more. But unlike last time the elements within charged Link’s actions instead of hindering him and so he could face Jago confidently.

“They never learn!” Link grinned cockily and then the young night found himself once more locked in a sword fight with the infamous bandit.

“You neither!” gritted Jago out, annoyed to have to deal with that hero kid again.

And well, some things never change and a little excitement never hurt anybody. It was after all nothing Link couldn’t handle.


End file.
